PORT TOWNSEND ¬­– The city of Port Townsend’s new marketing director wants to bring the community together on a single message.

Christina Pivarnik, owner of CP Communications, has been awarded the contract to provide tourism marketing services to the city in the hope that she can get everyone on the same page.

“We want a common ground, and a common message,” Pivarnik said.

What that message will be has not been determined.

Pivarnik said several slogans are floating around at the moment, including “No Bridge, No Problem” and “Get Ready 5/2009.”

Her goal is to centralize that into one, singular slogan.

“We need to decide what we want to say collectively to our visitors,” Pivarnik said.

“We want to be on the same page, whatever that message is.

“Different messages from different directions just don’t have the same impact as one central message.”

City Manager David Timmons said that is the exact reason Pivarnik was hired.

Rally together

“The immediate focus for Christina will be to rally the various organizations in our area together to create a more unified marketing message, especially as it relates to the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge in May,” Timmons said.

“Our goal is to partner with groups such as the local chambers, Fort Worden, Main Street, Jefferson County, Washington State’s Department of Transportation and Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, as well as local businesses, to communicate how to get here during the closure and to make a marketing splash on the east side of the Sound when the bridge is open again.”

Pivarnik said her goal was not to emphasize or dwell on the bridge closure, but to market to locations still accessible to Port Townsend.

“We want people to keep coming,” Pivarnik said.

“We will begin focusing on Olympia and Portland, and to a lesser extent, Victoria.”

Pivarnik said the target is cities are locations that will be less affected by the closure of the Hood Canal Bride.

Portland, Olympia

For Portland and Olympia residents, the trip up U.S. Highway 101 has always been the quickest route to the North Olympic Peninsula.

Victoria residents access the states via ferry routes into Port Angeles.

Over the course of the next month, Pivarnik will be meeting with many local and regional organizations to help create compatible, unified marketing programs for the area.

“I welcome any thoughts and ideas businesses may have about how we can more effectively market our community to visitors beyond the Peninsula,” she said.

She said she would work closely with the City’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee with marketing fees being paid for by lodging tax.

A full marketing plan will be put in place in the first quarter of 2009.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to work in this capacity on behalf of an area I feel so passionately about,” Pivarnik said.

“I feel that the timing is right.”

Pivarnik has been providing marketing and public relations consulting services for more than 15 years to local, regional, national and international organizations.

Some local clients have included the Jefferson County Historical Society, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Mobilisa, MarinerBank, the Food Co-op, and North Sound Wineries Association, in addition to many others.

Pivarnik is also co-owner of Christina James Winery and works with the Jefferson County Equestrian Association.

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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsula dailynews.com